


candlenights (epilogue)

by dozmuffinxc



Series: catch me as i fall [7]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Candlenights, F/F, Fluff, only the tiniest bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 03:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16966962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dozmuffinxc/pseuds/dozmuffinxc
Summary: “I wanted to give you your Candlenights gift somewhere special, and I couldn’t think of a better place than where I really saw you for the first time.”





	candlenights (epilogue)

A cool breeze whipped Hurley’s pink curls around her ears as she steered her battle wagon away from the city of Goldcliff. It was one of those rare, calm nights where the only sound louder than the twilight chirping of invisible crickets was the bass hum of the wagon’s engine. It was the perfect night for a drive, Hurley thought, although the blind-folded figure at her side seemed less than pleased at the prospect.

“Where are you taking me?” Sloane asked from the co-pilot’s seat. 

“We’re almost there,” Hurley replied, taking her eyes of the road to admire the effect of the lingering sunset’s light on her girlfriend’s russet skin. Sloane had always been beautiful, but as a dryad, she was radiant. Of course, Hurley was biased: every petal, every vine was a reminder that they were somehow, miraculously, alive, and that it was Sloane’s ultimate victory over the Gaia sash that had made that possible.

Hurley brought the battle wagon to a stop at the edge of the cliff that gave their city its name. As she helped Sloane to the ground, she was surprised to feel a tremor of nerves shiver down her spine. She had been planning this for so long, and it felt so _right_ , but…

“Can I take this ridiculous thing off now?” Sloane whined, a half-smile belying her amusement.

“Yes,” Hurley said, and with careful fingers, she undid the knot on the blindfold and slipped the fabric from Sloane’s eyes. 

Sloane blinked.

“The… track?” she said slowly. “Babe, we… we’re here all the time. Is this your big surprise?”

Hurley bit her lip and laced her fingers behind her back as she replied.

“I wanted to give you your Candlenights gift somewhere special, and I couldn’t think of a better place than where I really _saw_ you for the first time.”

Sloane looked bemused. 

“I don’t understand,” she said.

Hurley sighed.

“The first time I saw you race,” she explained. “I knew who you were – I knew you were the Raven who was staging all of those ridiculous heists, and I thought that if I saw you race, it would be easier to catch you. You know, because I’d know your moves.”

Sloane smiled, and a few new blossoms unfolded into a crown atop her forehead.

“I stood right here,” Hurley continued, “and when you came through the finish line, I just knew. You were so alive, Sloane, so daring, so full of life. I had to get to know you, and I tried to tell myself that it was just for the case – you were a criminal, and I needed to get the upper-hand – but it was _so much more than that_. This is where I fell for you, Sloane; everything that came after… I trace it all back to here.”

When Hurley trusted herself to look up, she was surprised to see tears in Sloane’s eyes.

“I saw you that day,” Sloane said, swiping at the tears with the back of her hand. “I knew who you were, of course: famous Lieutenant Hurley. And I thought, she feels it, too: the pull of the track, the craving for speed and the reckless abandon of the race. I didn’t know…”

“That it was something more?” Hurley finished for her. 

Sloane nodded.

Hurley reached up and laced their fingers together. To anyone else, the bark that covered her body might have been rough and uneven, but to Hurley, it was all soft, warm flesh yielding to her touch.

“Sloane,” she breathed, bringing the other woman’s fingers to her lips, “with you, it’s always been something more.”

Sloane swooped down and pressed her lips against Hurley’s, catching the smaller woman off-guard. Together, they toppled into the grass at the cliff’s edge, giggling between kisses until they drew apart and lay back, side-to-side, staring up at the night sky.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sloane rolled onto her side in the grass, the cool brush of the soft strands tickling her cheek as she watched the slow rise and fall of Hurley’s chest. Even now, the sheer truth of Hurley’s existence was a marvel. She had been so close to losing her; to have her here, _breathing,_ at her side was a miracle that Sloane knew she would never deserve, not in ten thousand lifetimes.

“What?” Hurley asked, grinning.

“Nothing,” Sloane said, “at least… how can one person feel so _happy_?”

Hurley laughed and turned on her side to mirror Sloane, their faces less than an arm’s length apart.

“And why shouldn’t you be happy? Why shouldn’t both of us? We deserve it! We did help save the world, you know.”

And just like that, Sloane felt it: the familiar tightness in her chest, the bone-deep chill that settled deep in her stomach, the painful pounding of her heart.

“ _You_ deserve it, Hurley. You deserve everything. But I – Hurley, I almost _killed_ you! You were dying in my arms, and it was _my fault_ , and—”

“Stop,” Hurley said, her voice gentle but firm. This was a conversation they had had many times, and just as it always did, the anxiety began to slowly ebb away as Hurley put both of her hands on either side of Sloane’s face and pressed their foreheads together. “I didn’t bring you here to listen to you apologize for something that wasn’t your fault. You don’t need my forgiveness.”

“Maybe not,” Sloane said, “but I do need you.”

“Good thing you have me, then,” Hurley beamed, pulling herself up into a sitting position and tugging on Sloane’s arm until she was similarly situated. “Now, are you ready for your Candlenights present?”

Sloane looked wary, but she nodded, and Hurley grabbed her hand.

“I love you,” Hurley said, voice catching slightly, “and I always will. And I know that we don’t need to prove that to anyone else, but I was hoping that you might consider wearing this.”

In Hurley’s free hand lay a delicate ring made of wood, a perfect circle crowned with a small bead of amber that glistened in the starlight.

“Oh, Hurley,” Sloane said, shaking her head. “And I thought _I_ was the thief.”

“What do you mean?” Hurley asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. This was hardly the reaction she had expected.

“I mean,” Sloane said, reaching into her pocket and removing something small and bright, “you’ve stolen my Candlenights surprise.”

A second ring, smaller than the first and crafted of two thin strands of tightly-entwined branches, one dark and one light, polished to a perfect sheen, sat in Sloane’s palm.

“Shall we?” Sloane said, and together they slid their respective rings onto the other’s hand as, all across the cliff-top, hundreds of tiny lights popped into being as a host of fireflies drifted across the plain.

“Happy Candlenights, Hurley,” Sloane said.

“Happy Candlenights, Sloane.”

“Race you back to the battle wagon?”

“If you have to ask,” Hurley grinned, one foot off the ground, “you’ve already lost.”


End file.
